Light-colored Subterranean Termite vs Notch-Tipped Flower Longhorn

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Light-colored Subterranean Termite Notch-Tipped Flower Longhorn
Scientific Name Heterotermes aureus Typocerus sinuatus
Order Blattodea Coleoptera
Family Rhinotermitidae Cerambycidae
Size 4-6 mm 9-15 mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Forests
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Arizona, southern California, northwestern Mexico Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Light-colored Subterranean Termite

A desert-adapted subterranean termite common in the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Colonies build extensive underground tunnel systems and infest structural wood. Workers are pale golden-yellow in color.

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Did You Know?

This is the most common structural pest termite in the Sonoran Desert region, thriving in one of the hottest and driest environments inhabited by any termite.

Notch-Tipped Flower Longhorn

A yellow longhorn beetle with wavy dark bands across its elytra. It is a common flower visitor in eastern North American forests.

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Did You Know?

Its color pattern varies so much that early entomologists described several variants as separate species.